Have the muse, have the time, don't have the ideas...

[kingfu]

What a eye opener this book was for me. I've had a muse for the last 4 years, but i've spent most my time spending hours on it which I never needed to just to keep busy.

I've now cut my work down to 2 hours a day, got rid of all time wasters and i'm now on a low information diet (sorted my email out, stopped watching tv, youtube and other time wasters). However I'm now stuck for things to fill my time up. I goto the gym 5 times a week, i do salsa twice a week during the evenings and i spend 1 hour a day since reading tims book learning spanish.

However even with all that i have huge blocks of time i just dont know what to do with myself. I'm sure alot of other people must have this problem. I'm going to start voulantering outside once a week just to get out the house. But I need other things i can do?!? Esp things to do during the day?

Oh i will start planing some mini retirements once i have the money, but that won't be for another 2 months.

Thanks

[kingfu]

hoped someone woulda had some advice by now.

I'm guessing the only thing for me to do is keep generating muses and work like everyone else does during the day before i go mad.

[OneOfEm]

Yes.

If you've made more free time but don't yet have the income to live like the NR, work on adding more muses to increase your income. If they're built right, other than the up-front time investment, they should also be automated once you're ready to travel.

[kingfu]

OneOfThem, thanks for your reply.

I do the have the income generation at the moment, although i would like to have a healthy bank account before i go off to the middle of nowhere. However you can't constantly travel can you? What about when you're at home during the day....doesn't anyone else have this problem?

I used to easily fill up the day reading news sites, random web pages, youtube, emails, social networkign sites. What do you replace these with tho? Should i go off and play golf every day like the rich? lol

[OneOfEm]

Go through the exercise starting on page 54.

Find a thing or things that your really enjoy doing or really want to do, then immerse yourself into it/them.

As an example, I started building fishing rods several years ago, but it was a hobby that I felt guilty about doing when the kids were home and couldn't do during the day due to work. All my supplies got put into a closet.

Now I've started doing it again. It's something I really enjoy, and now I can do it guilt-free.

You don't have to hike to the base camp on Everest to have a fulfilling life (although it's on my list, too :) )

[FrozenCanuck]

OneOfThem, thanks for your reply.

I do the have the income generation at the moment, although i would like to have a healthy bank account before i go off to the middle of nowhere. However you can't constantly travel can you? What about when you're at home during the day....doesn't anyone else have this problem?

I used to easily fill up the day reading news sites, random web pages, youtube, emails, social networkign sites. What do you replace these with tho? Should i go off and play golf every day like the rich? lol

Kingfu - here are several ideas to fill up your time. First of all, keep in mind that so long as you are ENJOYING how you spend your time, you are succeeding in life bigtime !!

- take another class in something that you'd like to learn. Ever consider self defence? How about an NLP training seminar or a course on Ericksonian hypnosis. These are wild skills to have my friend! Think outside of your usual box and consider even traveling somewhere to TAKE the course. There are all kinds of seminars that run for 3-4 days that would be of massive interest to me if I had the time.

- teach something to someone or a group of people

- build something. Remember being a kid and always wanting to build that go-kart? What is it that you'd really like to build for yourself NOW?

If you think about what you admire in others, you will come up with a TON of ideas to fill your time.

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[gobytrain]

OneOfThem, thanks for your reply.

Should i go off and play golf every day like the rich? lol

Duh! Yah, that is if you like golf. Personally, I think golf sucks so I'd start becoming that exciting person you always wanted to be...

[gobytrain]

I almost forgot the most important thing, volunteer!!!

It will blow your mind how good it feels to do things for other people in need. It's addictive. Think of something you enjoy (computers?) and apply that to looking for a non-profit. Schools, small business services, Habitat for Humanity, etc. For the love of God, put that body and brain to some public service!!! Plus, it's a great way to meet cool people.

[kingfu]

Thanks for some of the ideas guys.

FronzenCanuck good ideas there, I'm gonna join a MMA club soon. Hmmm yeah i would really like to do these mini 3-4 day intensive courses in subjects/activities if i can find some. I was thinking about going to isreal to learn krav maga, or thailand for a few weeks to do kickboxing, or maybe an archelogical dig somewhere. However I can only see these being short term solutions for a few days here and there.

Would love to build something, i was always building things when i was younger...no idea what i would build now tho.

Voulanteering is on my list, would love to help others.

I've been getting quite low sometimes due to not having the social interactions daily you would normally get while at work. Its no fun being stuck at home on your own during the day while 95% of the population are at work. I often consider rejoining the workforce just to be able to talk to people. Everything is geared around working 9-5 with social activities ran in the evenings. I would love to get back to the point where my schedule is always full and im always busy....the problem with being idle is actually i find, thinking too much. I don't wan't to think, i juts want to do.

If anyones then got any ideas on perhaps how i can regularlly meet and interact with people during the day (and hopefully make new friends) without getting a job i would love to hear them....

[gobytrain]

My boyfriend feels that way as well. It's a tough one. I think when you leave the USA it actually gets easier because you meet other people traveling, and in my opinion American's are horrible conversationalists and pretty bad at making new friends. We all seem to stick with the ones we made in high school, college or at work, and then freeze everyone else out...

[kingfu]

I've been giving this one alot of thought. Also since going on a low information diet my stress level has gone through the roof, purely because now I can't just sit around pretending to do stuff or be "busy" so i get anxious instead.

I joined another club, MMA this time, which i really enjoyed. But the problem still stands, i go through large parts of the day without any significant human contact. MSN Messenger doesn't cut it for me. However I don't want to go back to the 9-5 cubical grind, which is equally soul destroying.

I did think about creating more muses, but this wouldn't solve my problem.

i think i may have found a solution which should give me quite alot of freedom yet provide hopefully a significant amount of face to face with other people. I was thinking about setting myself up as a internet marketing consultant. I could do the selling and relationship building myself and farm out alot of the mundane tasks to VA's.

While not a muse in the strictest sense does this sound like a potential remedy? Anyone else got any other ideas?

gobytrain: does your boyfriend have a muse and works from home too? i think everyone not just Americans have a tendency to stick to their own social circles which they developed in school/university.

[gobytrain]

We work together, so it's just the two of us, and yah, I guess it's our "muse". We've just been working on getting it automated, we had about a dozen employees and hated it, now it's just us and it's hard because we're still making the changes. If we pull it off it will rock, if we don't, it will be super sucky since we'll have to start again.

He was never super social on his own though, so not being forced into relationships with other people makes it easier for him to stay isolated. I travel for business and find myself with better friends scattered throughout the country, and few in my own town...

[kingfu]

Well atleast you have each other. I dont think it would be so bad for me if i had a partner in crime. I just dont think its possible to fill the void completly with projects, travel, learning while the vast majority of the population work unless you have such a big social network that at any time theres always people to hang around with, which im guessing people like Tim have. I would say 100% of my friends and family work 9-5.

I think i would go mad if i went on holiday for a 2 months on my own, sure i'd be alright for a few weeks but i think after that i'd be extremely lonely.

Is your boyfriend taking any steps to imporve his situation aswell?

[gobytrain]

Promise you wont be lonely if you travel. Wont happen, no way.

Please don't take this the wrong way (if that's possible), but I want to be sure that you possibly don't have any depression, sleep, shyness/anxiety issues.

If you suspect that you at all do, you need to do some research on-line to help you identify your symptoms. Then, you need to find a physician in your area that is a specialist.

Neurological and mental health issues can be very tricky since they're easy to deny, are stigmatized and can be symptomatic of other problems. So, I'm always trying to motivate people to first investigate, and then advocate for themselves. I can't emphasize enough how important I think this is, it changes lives.

My BF has a couple of these issues, and it makes the social thing that much more difficult. Sometimes having a cohort can actually make things a little tougher, if they're your significant other because you can create a little cocoon around yourselves.

People like Farriss very well don't have this problem because they're so, so called, type A personalities. As is evidenced by his suggestion of lying down in the middle of Starbucks in order to break out of your daily routine...

It's fine not to be Mr. Social, do it at your own pace. If you focus on one thing at a time. For example, your most favorite hobby, and investigate classes, associations, etc. For example, I received in the mail today a listing for Adult Education classes sponsored by the local school system, and there was some cool stuff I'll probably check out to meet people (since I just moved to a small town).

Also, keep in mind being solitary to a certain extent has it's privileges and benefits. We don't have to socialize to the extent that we resemble an episode of Friends to be happy.

[PayDoh]

Hello Everyone....Im a rookie here and have a muse idea but I cant figure out who would develop the idea to an actual product???
Who developed Tims supplement?? He wanted a supplement to quicken brain function or whatever and someone made that for him?? I have a few ideas but who figures out how to make it work???
Im sorry if I've taken over this thread but I cant figure out how to start my own!!...Please help!!!

[kingfu]

I want to be sure that you possibly don't have any depression, sleep, shyness/anxiety issues.

I don't take it the wrong way at all, you never know what someones actually like just from the internet. However I definitely don't have any of those problems. Sure theres a few things about my life i'd like to change, this subject being the main one, but im pretty sure im not suffering from anything.


People like Farriss very well don't have this problem . As is evidenced by his suggestion of lying down in the middle of Starbucks


Thats part of the problem, i dont have any reason to hardly ever goto starbucks in the day as I don't have anyone to ever meet! lol


It's fine not to be Mr. Social, do it at your own pace. If you focus on one thing at a time. For example, your most favorite hobby, and investigate classes, associations, etc.

Apart from college classes im sure you'll agree nearly all social activities occur during the evening. I now have every night regularly busy with social activities bar weds night and sunday night (gotta have some time off!)

My day normally looks like this: get up (i live on my own), make breakfast, check email, goto gym, come home, check email, try not to get sucked onto the net doing aimless things, eat, learn some spanish, wait till 7pm so i can do my social activities and get out the bloody house!

When i wasn't on a low information diet or into GTD i could easily waste hours keeping busy but achieving little. Thanks to GTD and tims book im much more streamlined...at the cost of then realising im quite seculded. I think alot of it comes down to my personality type, im an ENTP....someone who needs to be busy, have alot of projects on the go, needs to be social and interacting with people to a certain extent. So i need to change

[BrettnAustin]

Here's an idea. Find what you love to do and realize what you HATE about it. What problem does it have? Is it a universal problem that others share?

Then find the solution.

Write a book, make a DVD, start a newsletter.

But most importantly....Do it.

[gobytrain]

I like bike riding during the day :-)

Go to your local coffee house (screw SB, they're coffee sucks anyway) and just sit and relax, enjoy a cup of coffee and possibly (but not required) start up a convresation with the barista, the graphic design guy on his Mac, or just read the paper, while in public, you don't need an excuse to be there, no one requires it at the door.

I like the library druing the day too...

I highly recommend any and all Farmer's markets. You strike up great conversations there!!

And, as before, volunteering is a 24/7 thing, somone can use you any time of day or night.

[webgal]

I like to run and go to the gym.

[kingfu]

I like bike riding during the day :-)

Go to your local coffee house (screw SB, they're coffee sucks anyway) and just sit and relax, enjoy a cup of coffee and possibly (but not required) start up a convresation with the barista, the graphic design guy on his Mac, or just read the paper, while in public, you don't need an excuse to be there, no one requires it at the door.

I like the library druing the day too...

I highly recommend any and all Farmer's markets. You strike up great conversations there!!

And, as before, volunteering is a 24/7 thing, somone can use you any time of day or night.

All good tips there, however I think I'd still find myself feeling abit like I should be doing something else. Coffee shops never seem that socialable to me, librarys are anti social. I'll im gonna add a few more things in but I'm still gonna go and find me a social "muse" in the loosest sense of the word lol

[kingfish]

First congrats on getting to that level, hope I'll be there soon :)

I'd say do what you like, for instance I like video games and once I only work 1 hour a day I'll play video games for 4 hours a day or so probably (interestingly I do that already though hmm) Ultimately do what you like, if you get bored find new hobbies until you find something you like. If you like to screw around on the internet read random news and watch youtube, do it. Just do it knowing you're doing it because you want to and like it and not to make yourself busy.

[Sven]

What about some big stuff:

Building or restoring a boat, a house, a car? No skills? learn them!

I'm into boats. Startet with a small cheap one, did it up, bought a bigger one, did that up and hope to sell it for a tiny profit and bought another bigger one that will probably be dubbeled in value when I'm done with all the work.

If you start small you can get a good feel if it is something for you.

Sven

[jeffbrown9]

Teach others how to regain their lives - just like you have...in other words.....teach them to fish.....

For example, you could teach a free course at your local YMCA on starting an automated business, how to generate ideas, how to successfully launch a business, etc. People are very interesting in how they can do this once they hear about it, so teach them and by doing so you're giving back and helping many others improve their lives and help their family.


By the way, what business are you in? I'm a little stuck on muse ideas, and could use your teaching myself! Any chance you could email me and we could have a brief dialogue?

Thanks - Jeff

[AntonTheKhan]

Have you tried dating? It seems like you need to date someone, fall in love, etc.
Just work on the next dream. I mean life is in the challenges that it presents to us.

I mean if you have hard time finding dates, for example, then what a great challenge. go out an learn how to do it.

[badhank]

Anton beat me to it:
Go out and find a few women, find them online and meet them, go check out singles places, hit a strip club etc.... Hanging out with ppl u want is definitely the reason u want to have more free time in the first place.

[nghs22]

Learn to play the guitar, learn a second language, etc. There are worse problems to have then have to think of things to do. I mean, if you want me to take a successful muse off your hands i'll be happy to :D